Two proposed charter amendments establishing procedures to handle council members indicted for crimes will be on the ballot for voter approval on May 4.

There is currently no process in the Cincinnati Charter and three of the nine council members were indicted on federal bribery charges last year.

Both proposals prohibit indicted council members from changing their successor designee.

Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman’s proposed amendment requires the city solicitor to hire a special prosecutor to consider removal of the council member to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

A second amendment proposed by Councilwoman Betsy Sundermann permits removal of an indicted council member with a vote by seven of their fellow council members, and if convicted, five council members can vote to remove within 10 days of the conviction.

If no vote is taken, the convicted council member automatically forfeits his or her seat on the 11th day.

Sundermann’s proposal also makes ethics training mandatory for all council members.

The amendment would increase the amounts an individual may contribute to a ward council candidate from $100 to $200 and at-large council and mayoral candidates from $300 to $450. The proposed amendment would also remove campaign finance language currently in the city charter.

If approved, council would have to replace the campaign finance charter provisions with an ordinance within three months time. Finally, council would be required to review campaign finance issues on a biennial basis with provisions made for public hearings as part of the review process.

Akron voters will vote on the proposed campaign finance charter amendment November 2nd.

Among the recommendations submitted to the council is a proposal to remove campaign finance reform from the City Charter. The commission found, with one exception, campaign finance reform was not contained in the city charter of any other major Ohio city. Citing the need for periodic amendments to campaign finance legislation and the need to adjust campaign contribution limits from time to time to account for inflation, the commission recommended the city adopt future campaign finance regulations by means of ordinances rather than charter amendments. Given the potential complexity of the issues involved, commissioners concluded campaign finance regulations require a level of detail inappropriate for a charter. The Commission’s recommendations also include a mandatory review of campaign finance legislation every two years going forward. The review would include a public hearing to obtain public comment on any proposed changes to campaign finance ordinances. The proposal must now be passed by council and then submitted to Akron voters for final adoption.